kevyn
Verified ownerI love my Orion and getting to tour the factory and meet the crew was great. Thank you for continuing to make great amps in Ohio.
3 years ago
Steven McLean
Verified ownerWell, the KSR team done did it. And to no surprise.
The PA50 is the perfect companion to the Ceres preamp, any other preamp or modeler. This power amp is well thought out and useful in several applications. I bought mine with the intention of using it with my band, in tandem with the Ceres preamp, so that I could leave my conventional amp heads at home. Weighing less than 13 pounds, it suits my needs to have all the power that I need, with a small footprint and lightweight design.
The Hi-Fi switch is cool for use if you wanted to power a turntable for mono sound or even have two for stereo. I don't currently own a modeler, but I can only imagine that the PA50 would offer all of the flexibility that one would need to get the most out of your favorite modeler. It can also be useful with darker sounding preamps.
One can use this power amp as one may use an FX loop return on your other amps, but it offers so much more with the negative feedback control and an incredibly useful master volume. If you're a bedroom player with PITA neighbors, this power amp can be used at super quiet volumes. Or if you're playing a gig, it can be an integral part of your gig rig.
One of my favorite features of the PA50 is the tube bias monitoring system and bias adjustment. One doesn't even need a multimeter or basic understanding of electrical theory to bias your choice of tubes. Just set the dip switches to the appropriate position for EL34/KT77/6CA7 or 6L6 bias range, let your tubes warm up, and adjust the bias until it's in the good (green) bias setting for that tube. It's never been that simple. Leave it to Kyle Rhodes to design something with incredible features and make it serviceable by the average user. Another quality KSR product. As if you would expect anything less at this point.
Thanks to Kyle, Mandi, Corey, Quinn and anyone else who helps make these products reality.
6 years ago
